One of Daytona's most wanted arrested after police pursuit

At least four warrants had been issued for the arrest of 23-year-old Quintonio White for charges that include armed robbery and auto theft, police said.

LYDA LONGASTAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH -- One of Daytona Beach's most wanted men crashed into undercover cops and an unsuspecting motorist Thursday morning, then burst into a man's house and was chased out by the gun-toting homeowner, Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said.

At least four warrants had been issued for the arrest of 23-year-old Quintonio White, Chitwood said, for charges that include armed robbery and auto theft.

"He's one of the people who's responsible for 70 to 80 percent of the crime in the city," Chitwood said of White.

Thursday morning just before 11 a.m., detectives got word White was parked in the driveway of a house on Lincoln Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Chitwood said.

The investigators approached the driveway in a truck and White revved up the engine of a maroon Dodge Charger, putting the vehicle in reverse.

"He smashed into the undercover officer's truck," the chief said.

But that was only the start of the escapade.

White, heading west on Mason Avenue, then slammed into another motorist who was heading east, Chitwood said. The suspect then bolted from the Charger, ran through a nearby cemetery and ended up bursting into a house that backs onto the graveyard in the 800 block of Berkshire Road, Chitwood said.

The homeowner was brushing his teeth at the time, the chief said.

"Quintonio told him, 'Hide me from the police and I'll give you $1,000,' " Chitwood said. "The homeowner told him to relax and he walked into another room of the house."

The homeowner, Chitwood said, later told police he figured White had done something pretty serious if he was offering him $1,000.

The homeowner grabbed a gun and confronted White, Chitwood said. The two struggled over the weapon and their scuffle spilled out onto the man's front porch.

By that time, investigators and patrol officers had fanned out all over the area, Chitwood said.

Thinking he could scare off the suspect, the homeowner fired off a shot. Police then converged on the front porch of the house, arresting White, Chitwood said.

The suspect was armed with the loaded clip of a 9 mm handgun, Chitwood said. It's not clear whether he had a gun. He also had crack cocaine on him, the chief said.

"There's gonna be a slew of charges against him," the chief said.

Some of the charges against White included aggravated assault, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of crack cocaine, and home invasion, Chitwood said.

White was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail where he is being held on $8,000 bail.